THE GREAT ENDURANCE RACES

January 9, 2009 12:00 AM

PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMBSport

: Auto racing. Where: Colorado Springs, Colo. Distance: 12.4 miles (and 4,669 feet up in elevation). How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 1½. Tell me something I don’t know: According to the National Register of Historic Places, a Texan once pushed a peanut up Pikes Peak with his nose. Now that's endurance.

: Many bodies of water including one in Beijing (above) for the 2008 Olympics. Distance: Competitive events are run up to 15.5 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: Two. Tell me something I don’t know: Famous islands that are sites of open-water swims including Manhattan, Key West and Alcatraz.

OPEN-WATER SWIMMING Where : Many bodies of water including one...photo-1330651.23180 - |ucfirst

ENGLISH CHANNEL SWIMWhere

: England and France. Distance: 21 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 3. Tell me something I don’t know: A German woman whose lower legs were amputated in childhood made the swim in 1990 after two failed tries.

: Distance running. Where: Most major cities (including Houston, above) and every Olympics host. Distance: 26.2 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 3¾. Tell me something I may not know: To get an official time in the Houston marathon, a runner needs to finish in under six hours.

: Speedskating. Where: Leylystad, the Netherlands. Distance: 62.5 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: Nine. Tell me something I don’t know: The event was held this year on natural ice for the first time in 13 years.

: Distance running. Where: Below sea level in Death Valley, Calif. Distance: 135 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 19. Tell me something I don’t know: Athletes who complete this race and a 508-mile bike race in Death Valley in the same year get the Death Valley Cup.

: Yachting. Where: Australia. Distance: 725 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 104. Tell me something I don’t know: The winner in the handicap division gets the Tattersall Cup; it went to U.S. boat Rosebud in 2007.

: Sled dog racing. Where: A series of small Alaskan towns including Unkaleet (above). Distance: 1,100 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 157. Tell me something I don’t know: Longtime musher Jeff King has been on his sled for more than 100,000 miles. That's 14,286 trips from Minute Maid to Reliant.

: Auto racing. Where: Sarthe department, northwestern France. Distance: About 3,100 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 443. What else?: Eighty people were killed at LeMans in 1955 when a car went into the crowd.

: Truck, car and motorcyle racing. Where: Argentina after many years in Africa. Distance: 5,951 miles. How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 850. Tell me something I don’t know: Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are condsidered the top teams in the event.

: Auto racing. Where: Colorado Springs, Colo. Distance: 12.4 miles (and 4,669 feet up in elevation). How many trips from Minute Maid Park to Reliant Stadium is that?: 1½. Tell me something I don’t know: According to the National Register of Historic Places, a Texan once pushed a peanut up Pikes Peak with his nose. Now that's endurance.